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Workshop: Plasma Photonics, Metamaterials, Strongly Coupled Plasmas

10:00 am – 2:30 pm, Monday October 13 Session DM2 COEX, Room E1
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Smart Photons from Microplasmas: Emerging Applications in Communications, Microelectronics and Healthcare

10:30 am – 11:00 am
Presenter: Sung-Jin Park (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Authors: Zhenglun Wu (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Jingyang Kong (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Caden Eagler (Eden Park Illumination, Inc.), Zhihu Liang (Eden Park Illumination, Inc.), Jinhong Kim (Intel Co.), Eric Cheng (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Stephen Messing (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Kavita Desai (University of Illinois), Andrey Mironov (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Dane Sievers (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), J. Gary Eden (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Low-temperature microplasmas are efficient sources of ions, electrons, reactive species, and photons. Among their various applications, microcavity plasma arrays are particularly valuable for unique photon generating or interaction that enable emerging photonic technologies. This paper presents recent advancements in microplasma photonics across four key areas: The first area is precision timekeeping. Microplasma-based mercury ion lamps (²⁰²Hg⁺, 194.23 nm) have been integrated into compact clock systems (under 1000 cc), achieving exceptional frequency stability at the 10⁻¹⁴ level, more than two orders of magnitude better than that of conventional miniature clock technologies.

Microplasmas enable the creation of tunable 3D photonic crystal structures operating in the 120–170 GHz range. When low-temperature plasma (in atmospheric pressure Argon) fills the dielectric channels, the resonance frequency shifts by up to 1.6 GHz. Inserting microplasmas into layered materials block significantly enhances signal attenuation, exceeding 30 dB.

For microelectronics applications, microplasma sources emitting vacuum UV photons (~7.2 eV) are capable of dissociating covalent bonds in organic compounds, enabling precise surface nanopatterning and material modification. These sources also facilitate room-temperature deposition of uniform dielectric layers such as SiO2 and Al2O3 from liquid-phase precursors. Their uniform, large-area output supports high-resolution processing without energy-intensive fabrication steps. Additionally, pulsed deep-UV microplasmas can rapidly switch high-voltage, wide-bandgap semiconductor devices-such as diamond-based PCSS-within sub-microsecond timeframe, unlocking new potentai in advanced power electronics.

Lastly, microplasma lamps emitting 222 nm far-UVC radiation from KrCl* excimers have shown high efficacy in inactivating airborne pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, flu, and RSV, while remaining safe for human and animal exposure. These flat plasma photonics are increasingly deployed in occupied public spaces to help prevent biological threats and enhance food safety.

Funding acknowledgement

This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-SC0024066, DE-AR0001846), the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (NIFA).

PRESENTATIONS (7)